CMOS is used for constructing integrated circuits. CMOS technology is used in microprocessors, microcontrollers, static RAM, and other digital logic circuits. CMOS designs may use complementary and symmetrical pairs of p-type and n-type metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) for logic functions.
The MOSFET is a transistor used for switching electronic signals. The MOSFET has a source, a drain, and a metal oxide gate electrode. The metal gate is electrically insulated from the main semiconductor n-channel or p-channel by a thin layer of insulating material, for example, silicon dioxide or high dielectric constant (high-k) dielectrics, which makes the input resistance of the MOSFET relatively high. The gate voltage controls whether the path from drain to source is an open circuit (“off”) or a resistive path (“on”).
When a MOSFET is scaled down through various technology nodes, several techniques are employed to improve device performance. Some CMOS devices are fabricated using a self-aligned source/drain process in which the source and drain junction overlap to the gate is substantially the same. The result is that any effort to increase the source overlap may also increase the drain overlap, which reduces the device on-state resistance and increases the drive current.